Learn how to ask for directions
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| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute German Season 1, Lesson 16 - Asking for directions. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and understand basic directions in German. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the way to ask 'How do I get to the station?' in German. |
| Albert: [Normal] Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'how' |
| Albert: [Normal] wie [Slow] wie |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to come' |
| Albert: [Normal] komme [Slow] komme |
| Eric: Next comes the word meaning 'I' |
| Albert: [Normal] ich [Slow] ich |
| Eric: Following is the word meaning 'to the' |
| Albert: [Normal] zum [Slow] zum |
| Eric: And lastly, we have the word meaning 'Train station' |
| Albert: [Normal] Bahnhof [Slow] Bahnhof |
| Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the question meaning 'How do I get to the station?' |
| Albert: [Slow] Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? [Normal] Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? |
| Eric: Now, imagine that you're speaking to a stranger. Here's how you would say, 'Go straight.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Gehen Sie geradeaus. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'to go, to walk' |
| Albert: [Normal] Gehen [Slow] Gehen |
| Eric: Next comes the word meaning 'you (formal)' |
| Albert: [Normal] Sie [Slow] Sie |
| Eric: And last is the word meaning 'straight ahead' |
| Albert: [Normal] geradeaus [Slow] geradeaus |
| Eric: Again, note the rising intonation. Listen again to the phrase meaning 'Go straight.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Gehen Sie geradeaus. [Normal] Gehen Sie geradeaus. |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning 'Turn right.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Rechts abbiegen. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'right,’ or ‘on the right' |
| Albert: [Normal] Rechts [Slow] Rechts |
| Eric: Followed by the word that means 'to turn (by car)' |
| Albert: [Normal] abbiegen [Slow] abbiegen |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'Turn right.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Rechts abbiegen. [Normal] Rechts abbiegen. |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning 'Turn left.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Links abbiegen. |
| Eric: First comes a word meaning 'left, on the left' |
| Albert: [Normal] Links [Slow] Links |
| Eric: Followed by the word meaning 'to turn (by car)' |
| Albert: [Normal] abbiegen [Slow] abbiegen |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'Turn left.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Links abbiegen. [Normal] Links abbiegen. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Albert: German streets, like other European streets, tend to be long, narrow and curvy. When walking down a long street, you may notice the name of that street changes. Street names don’t always remain constant, so be careful when asking about a location or address! When looking for directions to a place, it is probably best to ask a local, because they will be most familiar with the street system. |
Outro |
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| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
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